UberX Price Cut Targets Yellow Cabs

The smartphone car-hailing service UberX will temporarily cut its prices, making it cheaper on average than a yellow cab, company officials said.

Cards are pictured in the Long Island City offices of Uber in May 2013.

Keith Bedford for The Wall Street Journal

Uber, which has been operating in New York City for almost two years, announced a 20% price cut to its fare structure Monday.

The cut applies to the portion of the app that allows users to connect with drivers of for-hire livery cars—not yellow or green cabs.

Uber New York’s General Manager Josh Mohrer said the price reduction would make any journey using the chauffeur-based service, even a trip down the street, cheaper than a yellow cab.

“We really want to be ubiquitous in New York City and for a product to really take out an incumbent we need to offer better service and better price,” Mr. Mohrer said.

The company said a typical taxi ride from Williamsburg to the East Village would cost $15 under the new pricing structure, compared with $16 in a yellow cab. Under its old pricing structure, the same fare would have cost $19 using Uber.

From Nolita to Lincoln Center, which the company said would cost $22 in a yellow cab, the price will be $2 cheaper using UberX. It will also be $2 cheaper using the service to travel from Grand Central to the financial district —normally a $24 fare.

The price-cuts will be introduced for a limited time.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates all taxis and livery cars, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.